Posted by: Jay

I don’t think it’s gonna make quiiiite as much money as The Avengers, but there’s another movie out that throws together established superheros into some kind of ad-hoc collaboration, hoping that the sum of their parts will turn into something transcendent, something greater than any of them could have achieved on their own. In “Re:Generation”, a documentary brought to us by The Grammys and directed by Amir Bar-Lev*, our five superheros are Skrillix, DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson, and The Crystal Method and their mission is to reinterpret five traditional genres of music with their on unique style and flair.

* I had no idea “The Grammys” presented anything besides The Grammys. And Bar-Lev also directed “My Kid Could Pint That” & “The Tillman Story”

As a big fan of genre bending in general I was all in when I heard about the project, and with one exception* all the tracks turned out great. As for the movie itself, it ranges from “well worth watching” to a “must see!”, depending on how much you follow these modern day musical superheros. As a super fan of all these guys it was thrilling watching them so far out of their element and really having their sound pushed to the limit.

*Crystal Method, I’m looking at you.

I appreciated all these tracks more after I watched the whole movie so really I hope you’ll make the time to do that, but let’s just take ‘em for a quick spin:

Skrillex vs. Rock (and featuring the living members of the Doors*) - “Breakn’ A Sweat”

Mark Ronson vs Jazz (featuring Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Members of The Dap Kings) - “A La Modeliste”

DJ Premier vs Classical (Nas and The Berklee Symphony Orchestra) - “Regeneration”

Pretty Light vs Country (featuring LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley) - “Wayfaring Stranger”

To watch the movie and get all these tracks check the official website:

http://regenerationmusicproject.com/

Trailer and re-mixes from Bonobo and Zedd after the jump:

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Posted by: Flicker

A year or so ago, a Half-Life 2 mod called “Neo Tokyo” was finally released after being in development since 2004, when it was to be an Unreal Tournament mod. I know that this isn’t a videogame blog but just deal with it. I also know that when most people hear the words “video game music,” they either think of MIDI chiptunes, or maybe some absolutely horrible J-pop theme song. Wait, that’s every J-pop song. But stop thinking about how appalling that Japanoise is! That’s not the point.

The point is that the score to Neo Tokyo is good. And I don’t mean it’s good for a video game. It’s actually an incredibly solid release.  I mean, I have music from Punchout, Excite Bike and Rygar on my computer, but I don’t actually listen to them. And while I could see myself running around Tokyo shooting soldiers to this music, I much more enjoy it as a backdrop to daydreaming on the train, which is where I come up with all of my brilliant ideas.

I couldn’t possibly categorize the music on this album accurately, as it is a hodgepodge of styles. There is everything from ambient to drum & bass. From trip hop to post-rock.

Which reminds me. Can the internet PLEASE get over the novelty of old Nintendo themes performed by kazoo or jug-band, or whatever. It’s not clever anymore. It’s every week with somebody getting praise for their cello and spoons rendition of the Kraid battle in Metroid. Granted, internet praise lasts for roughly three days before the next Tom and his giant floor piano Zelda theme, but that’s longer than they deserve.

Ed Harrison has only released this one album, which is frankly far higher quality than the mod that it was written for. The entire album is 26 songs in length, and all of them well done. Here are a few:

Tin Soldiers

Automata

Scrap_IO

Footprint

*****

PLAY ALL

*****

You can listen to more or purchase the whole thing at Amazon or CD Baby.

Posted by: Jay

Once again I was up way too late last night, randomly strolling around the internet, window shopping for beats and popping in on old friends. This deft avoidance of sleep was thoroughly rewarded when I happened upon these last two releases from Colorado’s finest, Pretty Lights. I’ve always been a passing admirer of his genre defying glitched-out-funky-bass-step*, but it seems I may have to become an all out fan. With his “Summertime” mashup and “Country Roads”** remix Pretty Lights has officially reached Next Level status at Casa de Jay.

* No, this is not an official EDM sub-genre. But it SHOULD be.

** The greatest Country & Western song of all time. Or at least my favorite. Wait, those AREN’T the same things?? How dare you.

Peep:

Pretty Lights vs Summertime (Free Download) by prettylights

Country Roads-Pretty Lights Remix 320kbps FREE DOWNLOAD by prettylights

Pretty Lights on SoundCloud

Pretty Lights on Tour

Posted by: Cor

A recent Blackberry ad gives me the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite trip-hop tracks of all time. The song Ghostwriter by RJD2 is so hip, so bouncy, so sonically eclectic that it appeals to just about everyone. If you don’t like this song, you probably don’t like music. And as we know, whenever an instrumental track rates this highly on the ULS (universal likability scale) you can bet it won’t be long before it’s being used to shill products of all kinds. Considering the track is nine years old, Blackberry is a bit late to the game here, but Ghostwriter has been used in NBA spots, painkiller ads, skateboard videos, and (checks Wikipedia again) eh, looks like some Washington State Lottery commercials as well.

RJD2 - Ghostwriter

If this is the first time you’re getting acquainted with RJD2, it might also interest you to know his track A Beautiful Mine is used as the opening theme song to AMC’s Mad Men. I know you know what that one sounds like, but I’ll post it anyway…

RJD2 - A Beautiful Mine

If these two tracks appeal to you, as I’ve already insisted they should, you’ve got enough reason to go back and check out RDJ2’s impressive debut album Dead Ringer. The mp3 album is available on Amazon, and well worth the meager six bucks it’s going for.

And in case you’re just dying to see some advertising, the Blackberry commercial can be viewed after the break.
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Posted by: Jay

On the podcast this week I am very pleased to present DJ Dahzen, all the way from Japan! Dahzen helped me with the series of “Shine” parties I started in Aizu way back in 2006, and has kept the star lit ever since (Shine turns five years old this year, whooo hoo!!). He brings a blend of blissful beats with him to mellow your mind and soul. in his own words:

“Sun Down” is a multipurpose mix good for watching the sun set, chillin’ in the zone, gettin’ seditative, romancin’ or whatever you regard as chill.

‘Nuff said. Kick up your feat and enjoy the mellow grooves!

DJ Dahzen - Sun down (right click and “Save as…” to download)